A dataset describing brooding in three species of South African brittle stars, comprising seven high-resolution, micro X-ray computed tomography scans
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
Background: Brooding brittle stars have a special mode of reproduction whereby they retain their eggs and
juveniles inside respiratory body sacs called bursae. In the past, studying this phenomenon required disturbance of
the sample by dissecting the adult. This caused irreversible damage and made the sample unsuitable for future
studies. Micro X-ray computed tomography (μCT) is a promising technique, not only to visualise juveniles inside the
bursae, but also to keep the sample intact and make the dataset of the scan available for future reference.
Findings: Seven μCT scans of five freshly fixed (70 % ethanol) individuals, representing three differently sized brittle
star species, provided adequate image quality to determine the numbers, sizes and postures of internally brooded
young, as well as anatomy and morphology of adults. No staining agents were necessary to achieve highresolution,
high-contrast images, which permitted visualisations of both calcified and soft tissue. The raw data
(projection and reconstruction images) are publicly available for download from GigaDB.
Conclusions: Brittle stars of all sizes are suitable candidates for μCT imaging. This explicitly adds a new technique
to the suite of tools available for studying the development of internally brooded young. The purpose of applying
the technique was to visualise juveniles inside the adult, but because of the universally good quality of the dataset,
the images can also be used for anatomical or comparative morphology-related studies of adult structures.
Description
CITATION: Landschoff, J., Du Plessis, A. & Griffiths, C. L. 2015. A dataset describing brooding in three species of South African brittle stars, comprising seven high-resolution, micro X-ray computed tomography scans. GigaScience, 4:52, doi:10.1186/s13742-015-0093-2.
The original publication is available at https://gigascience.biomedcentral.com
The original publication is available at https://gigascience.biomedcentral.com
Keywords
Micro X-ray computed tomography scans, Brittle stars -- Eggs -- Incubation, Ophiuroida -- Eggs -- Incubation, Brittle stars -- Brooding (Incubation), Ophiuroida -- Brooding -- (Incubation)
Citation
Landschoff, J., Du Plessis, A. & Griffiths, C. L. 2015. A dataset describing brooding in three species of South African brittle stars, comprising seven high-resolution, micro X-ray computed tomography scans. GigaScience, 4:52, doi:10.1186/s13742-015-0093-2